Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2018

Argumentation by Self-Model: Missing Methods and Opportunities in the Personal Narratives of Popular Health Coaches

Maria E Gigante

Abstract

This essay expands Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s concept of argumentation by model to bring more attention to the persuasive effects of using the self as a model. To illuminate this technique, I analyze the personal narratives of popular health coaches, who are championing a holistic health movement toward what I refer to as “do-it-yourself healthcare.” This case involves arguments regarding the efficacy of methods in evidence-based medicine and “alternative” or holistic health, as popular health coaches predicate their ability to heal themselves and others on abandoning traditional medicine. In brief, the purpose of this article is twofold: first, to characterize the rhetoric of the movement toward alternative or holistic health, and, second, to extend Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s concept of argumentation by model and address the implications of this expansion.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2018-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281617696984
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Weedon et al. (2026)
    Making Information Sensible: Reconsidering Aesthetics in Scientific and Technic…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Bakke (2019)
    Trust-Building in a Patient Forum: The Interplay of Professional and Personal E…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Hannah et al. (2018)
    Mapping the Terrain: Examining the Conditions for Alignment Between the Rhetori…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

References (44) · 5 in this index

  1. Asprey, D. (2015a). About bulletproof. The Bulletproof Executive …
  2. Asprey, D. (2015b). New readers. The Bulletproof Executive . Retr…
  3. 10.1075/scl.28
     ↗
  4. Binder, L. (2014, September 26). Employers reining in health care costs, but with a twist. …
  5. 10.1017/S1745855207005029
     ↗
Show all 44 →
  1. Croxton, S. (2015). About. Underground Wellness . Retrieved from …
  2. 10.1080/02691720802559412
     ↗
  3. Derkatch C. (2011)
    Rhetorical questions of health and medicine
  4. Derkatch (2012)
    Demarcating Medicine's Boundaries: Constituting and Categorizing in the Journal…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. 10.1046/j.1365-2796.2003.01201.x
     ↗
  6. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199764129.001.0001
     ↗
  7. 10.1080/03637758409390180
     ↗
  8. 10.1080/03637758509376117
     ↗
  9. Fisher W. (1987)
    Human communication as narration: Toward a philosophy of reason, value and action
  10. 10.1001/jama.280.18.1618
     ↗
  11. Foss S. K. (2014)
    Contemporary perspectives on rhetoric: 30th anniversary edition
  12. Gross A. G. (2003)
    Chaim Perelman
  13. 10.5406/illinois/9780252038372.001.0001
     ↗
  14. Jamieson, A. (2015). About. Alexandra Jamieson . Retrieved from h…
  15. 10.1111/j.1468-2885.2009.01353.x
     ↗
  16. 10.1080/03637759209376247
     ↗
  17. Kuehl et al. (2015)
    Designing public communication about doulas: analyzing presence and absence in …
    Communication Design Quarterly
  18. 10.1080/01463373.2015.1103602
     ↗
  19. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1985.tb02975.x
     ↗
  20. 10.1080/01463373.2015.1103592
     ↗
  21. McClure (2009)
    Resurrecting the Narrative Paradigm: Identification and the Case of Young Earth…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  22. Meloncon et al. (2015)
    Special issue introduction: Charting an emerging field: the rhetorics of health…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  23. Nakayama, A. (2012, July). Action potential: Sparking the change in healthcare. KC Bake…
  24. Nakayama, A. (2016). About. Replenish PDX . Retrieved from http:/…
  25. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2016, April 12). Complementary, alternative, or in…
  26. Perelman C. (1969)
    The new rhetoric: A treatise on argumentation
  27. Ragan S. L. (2005)
    Narratives, health, and healing: Communication theory, research, and practice
  28. 10.1080/03637758909390248
     ↗
  29. Scott et al. (2013)
    The Rhetorics of Health and Medicine: Inventional Possibilities for Scholarship…
    Poroi
  30. 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.07.012
     ↗
  31. Stevenson, S. (2015). About. The Shawn Stevenson Model . Retrieve…
  32. 10.1353/par.2004.0011
     ↗
  33. Sunwolf (2005)
    Narratives, health, and healing: Communication theory, research, and practice
  34. 10.4324/9780203811306
     ↗
  35. Waddell C. (1997)
    Landmark essays in the rhetoric of science
  36. Walter, S. (n.d.). Holistic health. American Holistic Health Association …
  37. 10.1080/00335638709383801
     ↗
  38. 10.1080/10714420600957290
     ↗
  39. Zerbe M. J. (2008)
    Rhetoric of healthcare: Essays toward a new disciplinary inquiry
CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2024
    The Evolution of Pragmatism in India: Ambedkar, Dewey, and the Rhetoric of Reconstruction ↗
    Isaac James Richards
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument archival research empirical research race and writing affect and writing body and rhetoric book reviews
  2. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2024
    Rhetorical Leadership ↗
    Catherine L. Langford
    rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis feminist rhetorics cultural rhetorics decolonial rhetorics graduate education argument empirical research qualitative research race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter
  3. Res Rhetorica Dec 2023
    Review/recenzja: Christian Kock and Marcus Lantz (eds.). Rhetorical Argumentation: The Copenhagen School. Windsor, Ontario: Windsor Studies in Argumentation 2023 ↗
    John Magnus Dahl
    rhetorical criticism teacher development argument empirical research
  4. Pedagogy Oct 2022
    “A Different Kind of Meaning Is Exposed” ↗
    William Stroup
    rhetorical criticism graduate education service learning teacher development argument collaborative writing empirical research qualitative research digital rhetoric race and writing gender and writing editorial matter
  5. Argumentation Mar 2022
    From Theory of Rhetoric to the Practice of Language Use: The Case of Appeals to Ethos Elements ↗
    Marcin Koszowy; Katarzyna Budzynska; Martín Pereira-Fariña; Rory Duthie
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism argument empirical research quantitative research